Series of Shadows
by FaithDeanLove
Summary: She held herself to the edge of the crowd, resigned in her place, and with no motive to ever leave it.


Hola peeps! Long time no story. Very sorry for that.

Disclaimer: Everything in this fic except the plot I do not own, so I basically have no rights to anything other than my story ideas. Everything belongs to whoever owns it cause I have no clue of ownership.

Enjoy!

Fists clench and take shape, sounds of flesh meeting mass filling a lone room. Low light reflects objects scattered about, showing hazy pictures of weights and various other equipment; abandoned once deemed outdated. Hidden in a more abandoned part of the large mansion, it was little more than an unusually big storage room when she had first stumbled upon it during one of her midnight walks. Random objects had been stored in it gathering dust, for all purposes appearing as if she were the first person to have bothered stepping through the doors in the past who knew how many years. The room held potential for more, she'd been certain, and had set about fixing it up several times to suit whatever need arose, and the training space she had arranged it into was so far the longest design held.

Arms shot forward and feet danced around the punching bag, working up a frenzy as she lost herself in the aggressive movements of her body. Her breath came out a ragged exhale, arms tense and aching, the desire to stop for a breathe was there, but her need for more quenched it; the need to keep on till her body felt on the verge of collapse, progress surely being attained. Her leg spun out in a kick with resolved force, and as if it were a signal made to the rest of her body she collapsed against the bag, hanging onto it as she lowered herself to the floor in the middle of her room. She felt herself drop down to collapse, a sign of weakness that only here did she not mind, where there were no eyes to look at her and see the inadequacies marking every part of her person.

Brown eyes stared up at the ceiling listlessly, blinking periodically to rid of the black spots formed on the edges of her vision, reasserting reality around her. Her heart raced against her breast, and she tried to subdue the frantic beating with deep breathes, certain for not the first time that such a speed would lead to something worse. She could feel her muscles start to sag into the unforgiving ground beneath her, and no doubt she'd wake up in the morning to every inch of her aching something fierce. The pain she'd embrace, as she always does, for only in the pain could she feel herself having accomplished something by reaching a new threshold each time. She pushed herself up with a sigh to slump over her knees, taking a moment to hang her head before glancing at the small digital clock placed against the wall. It read 4:25 in bright red, and she knew she had better get back to her room before her roommate woke up and noticed her missing.

_Not like she'd actually care_, she thought bitterly, _since she basically acts like I'm not even there._

Still, on the off chance her absence was noticed, she didn't want anyone starting to get curious about what she did with her time. Curiosity leads to a higher awareness regarding that which surrounded the interest, eventually leading to questions, and she didn't need anyone butting in her business or scrutinizing her.

Her legs tensed as she brought herself to her feet, and she almost moaned at the thought of having to walk the long corridors and up the stairs to her room. It would've been much easier if it wasn't so out of the way, or if she could just float up and into her bed. The low lamp switched off as the door closed behind her, and her body tread through the familiar corridors lightly. Her eyes and ears looked out for anyone wandering the halls as well, for nothing good could come of her being caught out of bed so late or early.

Nobody needed to know about her nightly workouts, and she had no desire for anyone to find out. This was her time to disconnect mentally from her body, and the insecurities plaguing her every second she was around almost every other inhabitant of the mansion. Every doubt or self criticism could be dealt with by each swing of her fists in the air, the pounding of her feet on the treadmill; pushing her body to the max until the only thing left was the pounding of her heart, and the desire to never stop the rhythm.

She shook her head to bring her mind back on track, for when trying to not be noticed by mutants, you needed to do more than silently creep past rooms. Her breathing and heart rate slowed down for as much as it could, and her mind cleared as she focused on the faint air being inhaled and exhaled through her nose. There was no need for any telepaths to pick up on her thoughts, or anyone with senses like Mister Logan to hear the sounds that proved she was alive. Her door was just straight ahead, and her breathing picked back up as she slid through it and slipped into bed. She curled up into a tight ball that was reminisce of a cat, turning over so that she could face the wall with the rest of the world to her back, tucking her hands underneath her chin.

She willed herself to fall asleep; wishing tomorrow was just another part of the weekend.

She wasn't sure how she could pull a disappearing act during a school day, but it probably wouldn't be too hard as long as she kept to the background. There was no coincidence in her codename being Shadowcat.

Hope you liked, and I plan on updating a series of one shots that connect together into a story type thing.

Review, and let me know if there's any suggestions or scenes or stuff you guys would like, which I might put in if it doesn't interfere with the overall plot and stuff.


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